Sacramento will become the first city in the U.S. to have 5G wireless network support for residential broadband and, ultimately, free Wi-Fi at 27 city parks.
Verizon announced this week that the residential broadband network will be deployed in the second half of 2018, with setups in two to four more cities expected to follow shortly thereafter. Sacramento was the first of 11 cities Verizon picked to sample its fifth-generation Internet access speed this summer.
The Sacramento City Council signed off on a deal in June allowing Verizon to secure small cell towers on 101 utility poles, expand its fiber-optic capacity and move quickly through the municipal permitting process. In exchange, the company committed to establishing 5G infrastructure throughout the city and installing free Wi-Fi at 27 parks, among other amenities.
